Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) reportedly received a formal offer for its Boots business from Reliance Industries and Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO).
Reliance, owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has teamed up with the US private equity fund to lodge a £5bn bid for the UK chain of chemists, which was acquired by the US company in 2012.
It is believed Boots has been on the chopping block for some time with the US retailer keen to focus more on North America and healthcare.
Reliance Industries: A consortium of Reliance and Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) has reportedly made a bid offer for the international drugstore chain Boots.#reliance #RIL #ambani #Apollo pic.twitter.com/QOlwl9SBYd
— Havenspire (@havenspire) June 10, 2022
The bid for Boots would enable its US parent company to keep a stake of 30% to 40%, according to one report.
The Issa brothers, who own Asda and EG Group, have been in the running to buy the UK chemist chain but last month threatened to walk away over a disagreement on the price.